I had heard interesting things from my friends about a new Netflix
television series entitled Stranger
Things, but never watched it. Then I received a soundtrack for the series…and then a Volume
2 soundtrack. One day, I took a look at Netflix with the intent of watching a
movie and was surprised to see that Netflix had recommend I watch Stranger
Things. I saw it as fate and
after the first episode, I found myself hooked.

Joyce Byers
(Winona Ryder) and her son Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) are beside themselves with
worry. After checking in with all of Will’s friends, Joyce, a single mother
with a fragile emotional state, heads over to the local police station to enlist
the aid of Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour). An
alcoholic and
drug addict since
the death of his young daughter, Hopper is not exactly impressed with the story
of Will’s disappearance until he starts looking into it and things don’t add up.

Meanwhile, a
young girl in a hospital gown (Millie Bobby Brown) makes her way to a local
diner where she experiences kindness at the hands of the owner who feeds her and
tries to help. His single act of calling Child Services for the girl ends in
his murder as there are some rather scary individuals searching for the girl.
She stumbles upon Mike, Dustin and Lucas as they search for Will. Eleven, as
the girl is called, claims to know where Will is, but the boys remain somewhat
skeptical, especially when a body turns up and is identified as Will Byers.

Most of the
town believes the boy is dead, but Joyce insists she has talked to him…through
the use of Christmas lights. Will’s friends believe he is dead until Eleven
finds a way to prove that he isn’t thanks to some rather special abilities she
possesses. And all the while, something is lurking in the woods…something scary
that needs to feed…and people keep disappearing, including Nancy Wheeler’s (Natalia Dyer) best friend Barb (Shannon Purser). What is this thing and what does it
have to do with Will Byers’ disappearance? And why is a group of scientists so
interested in Eleven’s whereabouts?

Stranger
Things is a science fiction horror series that pays homage to some of the
best horror and sci-fi films of the 80s. The kids being tormented by a monster
and going on an epic journey to save the town from this thing is reminiscent of
Stephen King’s earlier works like Itand Stand By Me (otherwise
known as The Body). The musical score of the series is very reminiscent
of John Carpenter’s scores for films like Halloween,
The Fog and Christine (which also happens to be a Stephen King tale featuring teenagers
against a demonic car and its possessed teenage driver). The series also
contains references to 80s pop culture with posters and comments about such
notable films as the original Star Wars trilogy, Jaws (even the
police uniforms are the same as those in Jaws and a Jaws poster can be seen on
the wall in headquarters), The Thing and more.

The younger
kids in the series are absolutely adorable and amazingly believable in this
series. Millie Bobby Brown in particular shows great range in an actress at a
surprisingly young age. The teens in this movie are equally believable and have
great charisma. I am convinced that Winona Ryder had never been bad in a role.
In this case, her role as a single mom whom everyone thinks is a bit crazy is
spot on. Though you know she isn’t so crazy as people think, you still wonder
at her state of mind a bit thanks to Ryder’s performance.

David Harbour as Chief Harper is terrific, making us love this lush with a heart
of gold, especially when we discover just what is behind his drinking and
drugging. And then there’s Mathew Modine, Papa as he is known to Eleven.
Modine doesn’t have much of a speaking role, but you hate him just the same
thanks to his mad scientist role and his interactions with Eleven. Simply
sinister.

Acting aside, what got me hooked on this series? Was it just the nostalgia
factor due in part to the 80s references and the similarities to horror films
and books I had read back then? No, those are just added attractions.
Stranger Things is a series with an addictive storyline. There is a mystery
to solve here. Sure, you know there is a monster, but where did it come from
and what does it have to do with this mysterious little girl? Are they one in
the same, is she a byproduct of its existence or is there something deeper going
on here? When are the adults going to catch on to what the kids already know?
And how in the world are they going to rescue Will when they aren’t all that
certain where he really is?

These questions kept me watching until the very last episode of the eight-part
series, which doesn’t exactly end, of course. After all, the powers that be
wanted this series to continue and they have been signed to another season.
There are still questions to be answered here (I don’t want to ask them here,
because I don’t want to give away key parts of the season one finale) and I
can’t wait to see what the second season of Stranger Things has in
store.